Mudflat: Worse than bad

I have lived in Olympia for the last 45 years. I’ve helped raise a family, administered a business, and served on the Olympia City Commission (before it became a council). I identify with Olympia. I’ve seen decisions made on thousands of issues. Mostly good, some really bad.

After decades of analysis, I believe that converting Capitol Lake to a mudflat is without question the most destructive idea I’ve seen for this community in those 45 years.

Neutral experts have stated that water quality is much more likely to be better with the lake than a mudflat. Their conclusions are supportable.

Operatives working for the tribe and state agencies have invested large amounts of time and effort to lobby our local leadership groups and the public convincing the unwary that investing in a mudflat will somehow yield great rewards. This idea is not supportable. The tribe has signed an accord with the city council regarding surface water policy. Citizens must ask, is it wise and prudent to subordinate the living quality in downtown Olympia in favor of Tribal and state agency ideology?

Our city, county, and state are now and will be faced with severe challenges. Education, transportation, mental health, homelessness, toxic runoff, water quality monitoring, and radioactive waste removal are among them. These will require enormous amounts of money. Squandering hundreds of millions of dollars on a mudflat reflects a lack of vision and responsibility.

This story was originally published May 20, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Mudflat: Worse than bad."